Voicing frustration over Ukrainian soldiers’ plight on the frontline, demonstrators gathered outside the Defence Ministry in Kyiv on Thursday, to demand their men be better supplied to take on the separatists.

One of those protesting, Lidia Hadina, said that those government troops who are surrounded by rebels must not be allowed to die.

She vowed to stay put until confirmation comes that heavy weapons have been sent to the combat zone.

Soldiers and civilians have paid a heavy price in the conflict.

A UN report this week said that over 2,200 people have been killed, not including the 298 who died when a Malaysian airliner was shot down over rebel-held territory in July.